A 'bionic' arm to get stroke victims back on the move
Roger Dobson, Daily Mail
Paralysed patients are being taught to use their hands and arms again by an electric 'gauntlet'.
It stimulates the muscles to make the hands and arms work again and also helps the brain to relearn how to move them unaided.
An area of the brain unaffected by the stroke then takes over from the damaged area to control movement.
Each year, millions of men and women around the world suffer from a stroke, which results in either death or severe disability.
Many stroke patients have hand paralysis, which prevents them from doing many every day activities, from opening a door to washing.
THE slip-on spiralshaped device, the NESS H200, is worn on the hand, wrist and forearm and is designed to help patients send out signals that get the muscles to fire, enabling them to move limbs previously paralysed.
The part of the device worn on the hand and forearm contains five electrodes connected to a portable computer control unit.
The control unit, which is operated by the patient through an array of push buttons, sends pulses of low-level electrical current to the electrodes.
They are positioned so that each covers one of five groups of muscles responsible for different forms of movement.
The unit has a series of programmes that control stimulate the nerves and muscles.
Its developers say the device, which is approved for use in the UK, Europe and America, is easy to use at home after patients have had an initial training session.
Each unit is designed for the individual and has an adjustable fit.
The device is based on the idea that paralysis causes what is called learned non-use of the muscles.
In this case the muscles stop working because they are getting no signals to move. However, parts of the nervous system injured in a stroke are capable of recovery when they are shown what to do.
Research shows after such stimulation, different, healthy areas of the brain take over the control of movements that had previously been controlled by damaged areas.
"In as little as two months, the NESS H200 can restore some hand function to stroke patients," says Kerri Morris, an specialist at Cornell University in New York, who has been using the device with patients.
"This gives them the freedom to do things they weren't able to before, such as feeding themselves and holding a book."
The device also improves blood circulation, reduces muscle stiffness and unwanted movements, improves skin, prevents or reverses muscle decline, and helps ease joint stiffness. The same kind of technology is being looked at for other groups of patients, including those with spinal injuries.
It may also be adapted to use with other limbs – research has shown that the same effects can be achieved in patients unable to walk when therapists repeatedly moved patients' legs in a walking pattern on a treadmill.
It is thought that these repeated movements send out signals which remind the spinal cord and brain how to start walking again.
• For more on the stimulator, visit www.bionessinc.com
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